JUST IN: Foremost Rights Group Makes Rebuttal To Warri Reclamation Thrust Press Briefing -

By Esther David

Introduction

We have read with outrage the recent press briefing issued by the so-called Warri Reclamation Thrust (WRT). Their call for a State of Emergency in Delta State is nothing but another desperate attempt to rewrite history, weaponize propaganda and draw the Federal Government into legitimizing Itsekiri falsehood. As the Warri Intelligent Gathering Mandate (WIGM), we will not sit idly while deliberate distortions are circulated. We reply angrily, deeply and with the weight of historical, legal, technical and educational truth.

The Reckless Call for State of Emergency

A State of Emergency under Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution is only warranted when lawful governance has completely broken down. Delta State has challenges, yes, but to demand an “emergency” is nothing more than a tactical ploy to federalize an Itsekiri agenda.

Who benefits if Delta is militarized?

Whose minority ambition is served by silencing Ijaw and Urhobo voices under the cloak of “federal order”?
This call is unconstitutional, dangerous and must be dismissed as political blackmail.

Distorted Claims of Supreme Court Victories

The WRT shamelessly asserts that “landmark judgments affirmed Itsekiri as landlords of Ijaw and Urhobo.” This is a lie.

Ometan v. Dore Numa (1926, Privy Council): Criticized Dore Numa’s claims as colonial distortions of native law.

Chief Sam Warri Essi v. Chief Secretary (1973, SC): Concerned compensation, not overlordship. Even then, it acknowledged occupation rights of Agbassa people.

Shell v. Tiebo VII (1996, SC): Affirmed compensation rights of Ijaw communities, not Itsekiri supremacy.

George Timinimi & Ors v. INEC (2023, SC/CV/1033/2023): Recognized systemic ward injustice against Ijaw and Urhobo.

No single Supreme Court judgment has declared Ijaw or Urhobo tenants to Itsekiri. To continue parroting this falsehood is academic fraud and legal dishonesty.

Historical Truths Buried but Not Forgotten

The WRT tries to wash away history, but we remind them:

Portuguese Records (Duarte Pacheco Pereira, 1485): Noted Ijaw settlements in Escravos and Forcados centuries before colonial manipulations invented “Itsekiri overlordship.”

Colonial Intelligence Reports (CSO 26/Vol.6/08549; CO 554/120/5): Recorded Ogbe-Ijoh, Gbaramatu, Egbema, Isaba, Agbarha and Okere-Urhobo as long-standing communities.

1997 Warri Crisis: Sparked by Itsekiri manipulation of local government siting, not Ijaw or Urhobo aggression.

The Itsekiri tactic has always been the same: provoke, cry foul, then rush to Abuja or London for cover. History has exposed this pattern again and again.

Okuama and Selective Memory

WRT’s invocation of the Okuama massacre is opportunistic and insulting. That tragedy was caused by a disproportionate military reprisal, not Ijaw expansion. Survivors remain displaced because the state failed to establish a credible inquiry. To weaponize Okuama in Itsekiri propaganda is an affront to the memory of the victims.

Oil and Gas Blackmail

Every time Itsekiri propagandists are cornered, they scream: “national assets are threatened.” Let the truth be clear:

The oil and gas infrastructure of Warri sits overwhelmingly on Ijaw and Urhobo lands, Gbaramatu, Ogbe-Ijoh, Egbema, Isaba, Agbarha, Okere-Urhobo.

Without these territories, there is no Warri oil economy.
To pretend otherwise is not only technically false but also economic blackmail.

What Truly Breeds Insecurity

The insecurity in Warri is not caused by Ijaw or Urhobo resistance. It is caused by:

INEC’s refusal to release the final ward delineation ordered by the Supreme Court in 2023.

Government’s silence in implementing reports of boundary panels.

Itsekiri propaganda, which stirs ethnic tension to cover minority ambitions.

Until truth is upheld, peace will remain fragile.

Conclusion

The Warri Reclamation Thrust briefing is a fraudulent narrative, aimed at manipulating Abuja into siding with Itsekiri falsehood. As the Warri Intelligent Gathering Mandate, we declare:

Historically, the Itsekiri are not overlords of Warri.

Legally, no Supreme Court has given them supremacy.

Technically, a State of Emergency is unconstitutional.

Educationally, propaganda cannot replace fact.

Peace in Warri will come not through false emergency declarations but through truth, justice and the release of INEC’s ward delineation results.

Signed:

Hon, Paibi Zibo
(Chairman)

Dr, Akpo James
(Secretary)

Warri Intelligent Gathering Mandate (WIGM)
For Truth • For Justice • For Peace

Cc:

The President, Federal Republic Of Nigeria

The National Security Advicer NSA